There are some hot rods that "tell" you what the builder had in mind during the construction process. Such is the case of Randy McDaniel's 1940 Ford sedan, of Yorba Linda, California, that was built by Danny Grant of Lakeside.

Randy ended up with the sedan after a few years of looking for a 1940 but hadn't found anything that "turned his crank". Well, that is until he was reading the classifieds on Hot Rod Hotline. Randy noticed the 1940 sedan was for sale and it wasn't too far away so he thought, "Why not?" and took a ride to check it out. As the saying goes, "I couldn't get the money out of my pocket fast enough." And before you knew it Randy was driving home the PPG Guards Red hot rod.

The sedan sits on a stock frame with a TCI Engineering Mustang II IFS with power rack-and-pinion steering. To the IFS the rear RideTech air suspension with ShockWave shocks were added along with four-wheel disc brakes. The air suspension was added after the fact and handled by Bud Lakeman of Lakeman Chassis in Fullerton, California. More corner accessories include the Moon cap–covered steelies with Coker American Classic wide whites measuring 165R15 in front and P235R75/15 in back.

2/9The factory glovebox holds concessions to modern hot rodding—the Vibrasonic, Vintage Air A/C, and RideTech controls. The stock-looking radio is actually a unit from Custom Autosound while the factory speaker grille hides the A/C ducting.

The motor is the venerable and always "correct" small-block Chevy. It's based on the modern 350-inch V-8 but dressed to look more like a vintage motor from the 1960s with seven-fin Corvette valve covers, ram-horn exhaust run through 36-inch long glasspacks, cast-iron intake, and an Edelbrock carb. Concessions to modern rodding come in the form of an alternator, aluminum radiator, Vintage Air A/C, and a power rack-and-pinion.

The sheetmetal is stock 1940 Ford with an assortment of replacement pieces from Bob Drake Reproductions but the Tudor does show off the brilliant PPG red. The headlights are 1940 Ford with the unmistakable chevron-style 1940 Ford taillights.

Inside the stock interior is painted and upholstered to give a true hot rod feel and it most assuredly does that with the brilliant red painted dash and the white vinyl with red piping covered seating. Southern California Upholstery handled the stitchwork while Hectors Car Audio installed a Custom Autosound stereo in the 1940 Ford's original dashboard slot coupled with a Motorola Vibrasonic reverb (do you remember them?) were wired together using an Easy Wire kit. The Vibrasonic and RideTech controls are tucked away in the glovebox along with the Vintage Air controls while the A/C is vented through the stock radio grille. The 1940 steering column topped with a 1940 wheel still employs a column shift that's refitted to work an automatic and not the original manual tranny.

If there were ever a hot rod that "hit its mark" this 1940 Ford sedan most assuredly does.